Sunday, June 26, 2016

VIDEO: The Pelican Stone Medallion - What Does It Mean

In the Resident Evil 7 Biohazard Demo, brightness can be adjusted from the options menu to create a better game experience. In order to get the levels set correctly, three images of different luminescence appears on the screen. The picture that is used for the settings is a stone medallion with the carving of a pelican on it. So what does this item mean and what is the symbolism that lies within.

The Pelican is the official state bird of Louisiana. It was most likely placed in the game to give it that Louisiana feel, and to clue you into the location of Dulvey and the abandoned Baker house. The Dulvey Daily newspaper is clearly seen in the kitchen in both the trailer and the VHS portion of the game, with a story on the front page about ghost sightings in the bayou, another association and connection to Louisiana. A possible set of hidden coordinates also ties in this setting as well.

The Dulvey Daily newpaper, found in the kitchen of the abandoned Baker house

Aside from the fact that the bird is native and popular to the location, the pelican is also a very creepy animal that fits in perfectly with the Resident Evil series. Despite how you may perceive them, these creatures are fierce hunters (get it, hunters) with a mythological and religious significance. The pelican is even seen as a symbol of Jesus Christ in Christianity, often depicted feeding its young with blood by pecking its own breasts, imagery that screams Resident Evil.

The state flag of Louisiana showing the Pelican feeding its young with its own blood.

The creators of the game threw the pelican on a circular stone tablet or medallion to give it the ultimate Resident Evil feel. If you've played games in the past, you often are tasked to find key items like this in order to go through locked doors.

So next time you get scared and decide to cheat a little by raising the brightness up, take note of something most people won't even notice that was put into the game with some thought behind it. I wonder if the Pelican Stone will show up in Resident Evil 7 the full game.